Thought for Meditation


Is the gift of eternal salvation free or costly?
Certainly, according to the truth and teaching of God's Holy Word,
we should recognize that the gift of eternal salvation is free unto all who trust Christ.
Yet we should also remember that this gift was abundantly costly 
for our Lord Jesus Christ to provide so freely unto us believers.

Weekly Sermon

2 Corinthians 5:14-15 reads, “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

Again and again throughout God’s Word we are instructed to "walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing."  Yet why should we so live our lives?  What motivation is given to move us to live our lives in such a manner?  Certainly the very fact that our Lord has instructed us to so walk and to so live should be motivation enough.  Yet our Lord has also provided us with the greatest and most gracious motivation possible.  Even so, 2 Corinthians 5:14 opens with the declaration, “For the love of Christ constraineth us.”  Now, the word “constraineth” here conveys the idea of that which takes a hold of us with force and moves us with that force to act in a certain manner.  In this statement our Lord Jesus Christ”s own love for us is the very force that takes a hold of us and moves us to live as we ought to live. Even so, 1 John 4:19 proclaims, "We love him, because he first loved us.”  This is the believer's motivation – “For the love of Christ constraineth us.”  Then as 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 continues, it reveals three truths that give substance to this motivation.  Thus we find the truth concerning our need, the truth concerning Christ's provision, and the truth concerning our responsibility.

Thought for Meditation

Our Lord Jesus Christ was made a servant that we might be made rich.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was made a sacrifice that we might be redeemed.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was made sin that we might be made righteous.
Our Lord Jesus Christ was brought to sorrow that we might be brought to rejoicing.

Weekly Sermon

1 Peter 2:6 – “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”

 I.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Living Stone. (1 Peter 2:4)
II.  In Christ we also are lively (living) stones. (1 Peter 2:5)

Weekly Sermon

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 reads, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

At the time that the apostle Paul wrote these things unto believers at Corinth, there were false teachers out and about.  Some of those false teachers were falsely teaching that there was no such thing as a resurrection from the dead.  Therefore, the apostle wrote 1 Corinthians 15 in order to defeat this false teaching.  In sod doing, the apostle began by communicating the elements of the gospel message and the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection out of the dead.

In verses 1-2 the apostle declared unto the believers at Corinth, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.” Now, the word “gospel” means “good news.”  Herein the apostle Paul was speaking of the gospel, the good news; and in verses 3-4 he revealed the three elements of this good news, saying, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Weekly Sermon

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 exclaims, “What?  Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Brethren, too many of us believers too much of the time are living our Christian lives on the ground of a spiritual lie.  Too many of us too much of the time are living out our lives as if they are our lives to live as we please.  Too many of us too much of the time are making the decisions of our lives as if they are our decisions to make as we choose.  Too many of us too much of the time have convinced ourselves that we have the right and the freedom to do what want to do, to say what we want to say, to enjoy what we want to enjoy, to pursue what we want to pursue, to choose what we want to choose, to think what we want to think, to feel what we want to feel, and to desire what we want to desire.  Yea, even when we would never make such a bold claim to such complete freedom in these areas because we recognize that there are some spiritual boundaries that we are not to cross, we still live out our lives and make our decisions most of the time on the ground of our own heart’s natural course without any consideration of any higher authority or priority.  We would not stubbornly declare, “It’s my life, and I will live it the way I want to!”  Rather, we simply go forward each day with whatever flows naturally.  Thereby, without stubbornly declaring it, we actually live out our lives the way that we want to. 

In addition, our adversary the devil has deceived us with the lie that we believers are no longer under the law, but are now under grace, and that because we are now under grace, we have the spiritual freedom to live and decide as we please.  Brethren, the great deceiver, our adversary the devil, is a liar from the beginning.  Certainly it is a Biblical truth that we believers are no longer under the spiritual bondage and condemnation of the law, but are now under the spiritual freedom and justification of God’s saving grace.  However, God’s saving grace does not provide us with the spiritual freedom to live and decide as we please.  As Jude 1:4 reveals, this is the teaching of the ungodly, who are ever “turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [unbridled lust, doing whatever one pleases].”  Rather, God’s saving grace has provided us with the spiritual freedom to overcome temptation and sin and to walk in fellowship with God and in righteousness before God.  Even so, Galatians 5:13 declares, “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.”  In addition, Titus 2:11-12 proclaims, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” 

Now, the truth of our obligation and responsibility as believers to live in this manner is founded upon another truth – the truth that we are “bought with a price,” with the price of the shed blood and sacrificial death of God the Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  So then, from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 let us consider four important elements concerning this truth that we are “bought with a price.”

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to a previous sermon:  By the Renewing of Your Mind (Part 1) - Romans 12:2    

Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

In Romans 12:1 God the Holy Spirit pleads with us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto the Lord our God.  Then in verse 2 God the Holy Spirit gives two commands that we must obey if we are truly to present ourselves as such a living sacrifice unto the Lord our God.  The opening portion of the verse presents the first command – “And be not conformed to this world.”  Then the second command follows – “But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Brethren, we are not to be “conformed to this world.”  We are not to be in the same form or in agreement with this present evil world.  Rather, we are to be “transformed.”  We are to be changed into a different form and a different character than this present evil world.  Yea, we are to be changed into the same form and character as our Lord Jesus Christ.  Even so, 2 Corinthians 3:18 declares, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image [as the glory of the Lord] from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

In addition, Romans 12:2 reveals that the means of this transforming work is “by the renewing of your mind.”  We are commanded to be “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind.”  This means that we ourselves must involve ourselves in the renewing of our minds.  We ourselves must seek out, and commit ourselves to the things that will make for the renewing of our minds.  What then are the things that will make for the renewing of our minds?  Already in the first part of the message, we have considered three answers to this question of these things – (1) We must commit ourselves to the truth of God’s holy Word; (2) we must commit ourselves to put away from us any and all sin; and (3) we must commit ourselves to live wholly unto the will of God.  Now in this second part of the message, let us consider one additional answer to this matter.

Weekly Sermon

This sermon is a companion to two previous sermons:  Be Not Conformed to This World (Part 1) - Romans 12:2
                                                                                      Be Not Conformed to This World (Part 2) - Romans 12:2

Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

In Romans 12:1 God the Holy Spirit pleads with us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.  Then in verse 2 God the Holy Spirit gives us two commands that we must obey if we are truly to present ourselves to live unto the Lord our God.  The first of these two commands is found in the opening portion of the verse – “And be not conformed to this world.”  The word “conformed” means “to be formed together,” that is – “to be made into the same form, or to be brought into agreement.”  Brethren, we are not to have the same form as this present evil world; and we are not to be in agreement with this present evil world.  We are not to think like this world thinks, feel like this world feels, behave like this world behaves, talk like this world talks, or look like this world looks.  We are not to have the same philosophy, the same priorities, the same purposes, the same desires, the same interests, the same habits, or the activities that this world has.  Brethren, we are not to make our decisions or have our mind set like this world does.  We are to “be not conformed to this world.”

Yet the question might be asked – Why are we not to be conformed to this world, and how important is it to our Christian lives that we not be conformed unto this world?  God’s holy Word reveals a great number of answers to this question.  Already in the first two parts of this message (see above), we have considered six of these answers.  We are to “be not conformed to this world” (1) because this world stands opposed to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, (2) because this world stands opposed to true Christianity and the true followers of Christ, (3) because this world is willfully without God, (4) because this world is under Satan’s deception, (5) because this world is following Satan’s direction, and (6) because this world is evil and wicked by nature.

Weekly Sermon

Isaiah 9:6-7 reads, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and justice from henceforth even for ever.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.”

Now, the fullness of this promise and prophecy has not yet been fulfilled.  The Lord Jesus Christ has not yet come in the fullness of His glory as King of kings and Lord of lords to rule and reign over the whole world from the throne of David in Jerusalem.  Yet the fulfillment of this promise and prophecy has indeed begun to be fulfilled.  Unto us that Child has been born.  Unto us that Son has been given.  The zeal of the Lord is already at work.  God the Father has already sent God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be born into this world as God in human flesh.  The fulfillment of this promise and prophecy has already begun in Christ’s first coming, and most certainly the fulfillment will be completed in Christ’s second coming.  Amen, and amen.  “Even so come, Lord Jesus."  (Revelation 22:20)

However, the focus of this message is not upon the coming of our Lord, but upon the character of our Lord.  In the closing portion of verse 6 five titles are given to reveal the character of our Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son who was given to be born in human flesh – “And his name [His title] shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  In this message let us consider three truths concern-ing the first of these titles – “And His name shall be called Wonderful.”

Now, the word “wonderful” refers to someone or something that is so positively unusual that it causes pleasant surprise and joyful amazement.  So then, in what ways is our Lord Jesus Christ to be called Wonderful?

Weekly Sermon

Romans 12:1-2 reads, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

In these two verses of God’s holy Word, our Lord gives us three instructions.  First, our Lord instructs us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him.  Second, our Lord instructs us not to be conformed unto this present evil world.  Third, our Lord instructs us, rather, to be transformed into His own image by the renewing of our minds.  Yet all three of these instructions are built upon one foundation.  That foundation is presented in the opening phrase of Romans 12:1, where the apostle Paul states under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God.”  The foundation for our obedience to our Lord God’s instructions is the foundation of our Lord God’s mercies toward us.  Indeed, when we truly meditate upon “the mercies of God,” then we will be moved and motivated to obedience.

What then is involved in “the mercies of God” toward us?  Mercy can be defined either as a holding back of a punishment that is certainly deserved, or as a helping compassion for an individual in desperate need.  In “the mercies of God” toward us, we find that both elements are involved.  Under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul presented the elements of “the mercies of God” throughout Romans 1-11.  Thus we shall find the answer to our question in these chapters – What is involved in “the mercies of God” toward us?